Newman may face increased role in 2002
By Stephen Thomas, CNNSI.com
October 6, 2001
6:41 PM EDT (2241 GMT)
CONCORD, N.C. -- Until about a week ago, Ryan Newman figured to be Penske Racing's proverbial little brother in 2002 -- that is, he would be given the room to grow and the chance to develop in the shadow of "older brothers" Rusty Wallace and Jeremy Mayfield. He tried to go three wide somewhere he shouldn't and wrecked? That's OK, Ryan's still learning.
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Ryan Newman has two top-10 finishes in five Winston Cup starts.
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It may be that Newman will still be afforded the luxury of learning by doing next year, but with Mayfield's sudden departure from Penske Racing earlier this week, the pressure on Newman, 23, would seem to have increased significantly. If Mayfield's replacement isn't a driver of equal stature, the already-high expectations that surround the relatively inexperienced Newman might go that much higher.
But if the change in status intimidates Newman at all, he won't show it.
According to long-time Penske employee Don Miller, Newman's confident demeanor isn't manufactured, it's real.
"He's never excited," Miller said after watching Newman finish a career-best second at last weekend's inaugural race at Kansas Speedway. "With all the races he's won with us at this point, he's never changed his tone of voice. I don't know what he does with his emotions, throws 'em under the seat I guess."
In five races this season, Newman has been suitably inconsistent, finishing second and fifth, yes, but also finishing 31st or worse in his other three races. Nevertheless, Newman's second to Jeff Gordon last weekend offered nothing in the way of confirmation for the powers that be at Penske Racing -- they don't need any.
"We've had our ups and downs," Miller said, "but we made up our mind about him a long time ago. I mean there's no doubt in anyone's mind -- Rusty, Roger, myself, any of us. We're with that guy. He's gonna do it. He's capable. This year has been a complete learning curve."
Newman will have much to learn next year as well, but if he proves to be as adept a student as he showed himself to be at Kansas, then he will be a more-than-capable No. 2 to Wallace. Newman wrecked his primary car before qualifying, still qualified 17th and spent much of the race hovering around the top 10 before moving into the top five with about 40 laps to go.
"[Last weekend] was definitely gratifying for me," Newman said. "As a driver, knowing that we can run up front and finish second to a champion like Jeff. We overcame a lot of adversity and to me that is as important as finishing up front. To do that is definitely key. When we struggled, we struggled for just a little bit."
According to Newman's crew chief, Matt Borland, everything his driver and team accomplish this year just gives them that much more experience for 2002. On Sunday, Newman will start fourth in the UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, where he sat on the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 in May and, apparently, his favorite track.
"Of all the tracks he's run at, he loves Charlotte the most," Miller said. "As long as we all do our jobs, have a little luck, he's capable of doing it again."
At this point, that may be enough. But next year, he will be expected to do it again and again.
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